The above order was dated on the twenty-first of March. The next day Lieutenant Reynolds inclosed a copy to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, saying, he should commence his voyage West with the emigrants, and adding, "It is not my intention to remove the negroes from Fort Pike until ready for departure, as I am convinced that many individuals with fraudulent claims are in a state of readiness, and only waiting the arrival of the negroes in this city (New Orleans) to carry their object into effect. The measures I shall adopt will bar their intention."
This letter explains the reason of the precise and specific terms in which the order of General Gaines was expressed. It is due to the memory of General Gaines, and to the character of Lieutenant Reynolds, that their determined efforts to preserve the liberties of these people, so far as they were able, should find a place in history. The war had been commenced and prosecuted for the purpose of seizing and returning to bondage all those people whose ancestors had once fled from oppression. It was the avowed policy of the Administration to prevent these ninety Exiles, who had been captured by the Creek Indians, from going to the Western Country, preferring to have them consigned to slavery in Georgia or Florida, rather than enjoy freedom in the new homes assigned to the Indians in the West. This feeling had encouraged desperate men to make unfounded claims to their persons: and it should be recorded to the honor of many of our officers, that they were active and vigilant in their efforts to defeat these piratical claims, and the exertions of the President and heads of the various Executive Departments, to consign these people to interminable bondage. In order to do justice on this subject, it is necessary to permit all concerned to speak for themselves, so far as convenience will allow. To carry out this object, the reader will excuse our frequent quotations from official documents.
On the twenty-sixth of March, Lieutenant Reynolds wrote the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, dating his letter at "New Barracks," below New Orleans, saying, "The Indian negroes will be received at Fort Pike, and brought to this place, via the Mississippi River. This course was adopted with the concurrence of General Gaines. Everything will be in readiness to embark soon as the boat arrives. General Gaines has directed that the guard under the direction of Lieutenant Wheaton shall proceed with me."